Saturday, September 27, 2014

The Road to the Southern End of Palawan - Balabac

I’m not a fan of keeping beautiful wonders to myself so lemme share to you a happy place where the
time stops and everything is so pristine that all you could think about is how
really nice our country is. So have you heard about Balabac?, the place where dolphins
and pawikans are just so normal that
people consider them as friends. And oh, those blindingly white sand beaches
that is so deserted that you could run freely and no one would even bother.

I invited my travel
blogger friend, Julius, to a 10-day Palawan trip. The original plan was to
revisit El Nido but due to his assertive-but-not-that-pushy way of convincing
me to visit the south-westernmost part of Palawan (showing me a photo of Onuk Island
by his friend Emil), I agreed and let him do all the planning and stuff (check here for discounted tours, transportation and activities in Palawan).

It took us two full days
from Manila to reach this secluded island and it’s all worth it.

Onuk Island, Balabac, Palawan

Our contacts.

Julius directly
coordinated with the Local Government Unit and they assisted us all throughout
this trip. When we got to Puerto Princesa City, we met with Mayor Shuaib Astami
and his daughter Fatima and discussed about our plans on exploring the town of
Balabac. Reports on unauthorized tour operations on some islands, specifically
Onuk Island, were also discussed. The local authorities have been stringent on accepting
tourists on the said island after hearing reports of some unauthorized
collections by different tour operators (there are no entrance fees,
environmental fees or any other fees that are imposed by the local government).

Onuk Island, for
instance, has been receiving guests for years now and the owner (Mayor Shuaib
Astami) never collected anything for accommodation and food for long-staying
guests. No fees are collected for daytrips as well as long as you coordinate
with the ‘right’ people regarding your trip.

In our case, we
discussed our itinerary and places of interest to the in-charge (Ma’am Lorna
Gapilango, MSWDO, LGU, Balabac, Palawan) and Mayor Shuaib Astami (with the help of some locals), they
helped us arrange everything.

Thank you so much, Mayor Shuaib Astami and Ma'am Lorna Gapilango!

So the plan was to check
out Onuk Island, Punta Sebaring Island and Balabac town itself. We allotted
five days for the whole thing, the time was quite short but we were happy get
on with the plan. The weather posed to be another problem. Given that August is
wet season, we played hide n’ seek with the sun.

How
did we get there?

Balabac is located at
the southernmost tip of Palawan. This second class municipality is composed of
more or less 30 islands and sandbars (some of which are uninhabited). It took
us two full days on the road (sky and waters too) just to reach this paradise.

This is the only passenger ferry boat heading to Balabac.

Our flight from Manila
to Puerto Princesa was at noontime. Fatima told us that the only trip for the
passenger ferry ride to the town of Balabac (From Rio Tuba) leaves at around
10:30-11:30 a.m. We stayed in Puerto Princesa for the night and left at around
4:00 a.m. to get to San Jose Terminal where shuttle vans and buses are
stationed. We were specifically looking for a ride going to Rio Tuba in the
town of Bataraza (our jump-off point to Balabac).

We immediately saw an
air-conditioned van heading to Rio Tuba, we hopped on and a few minutes before
five in the morning, we’re off to Rio Tuba (400-450 pesos each person). The scenic
ride lasted for 4 ½ hours. Upon reaching the terminal at Rio Tuba, we looked
out for a tricycle that would bring us to the port (20 pesos each person).

Arriving at the port, we
learned that the only passenger ferry going to Balabac will be leaving before
noon which means we had two hours and so of lull time. We decided to have an
early lunch somewhere and wait on the docking area so that we could immediately
hop on the boat in case they decided to let us in.

We killed time on a shaded hut on stilts with some kids who seemed to be busy with their pastime –
fishing. Armed with their baits, nylon strings and hooks, they waited patiently
for their first catch of the day. And they didn’t have to wait that long, one
by one, they showed off their catch to everyone. They’re just the cutest!

After some 2 ½ hours of waiting
time (which we didn’t totally feel because of the cute kids), we finally
boarded the ferry boat (350 pesos each person). At 11:30 a.m. we left Rio Tuba
and headed to Balabac. I managed to sleep soundly in spite of the crowded
ferry.

Define clear waters

At around 4:00 p.m. we
arrived at the first stop, the Bancalaan Island (a barangay in Balabac). Some passengers got off here
while others who were heading to Balabac's main island loaded the ferry. Just one more hour
and we’ll be getting to our destination.

Bancalaan Island

We reached Balabac at 5:30
p.m. We went to our point person right away and discussed with her our plans. With
all systems in place, we started the journey by exploring Onuk Island (overnight),
a daytrip to Punta Sebaring Island, and then the town of Balabac (two nights).

Balabac Port

Going back to Puerto
Princesa was quite easy. The only ferry boat going to Rio Tuba (350 pesos each
person) leaves at around 6:00 to 7:00 a.m. depending on the volume of the
passengers and/or the situation of the waters. In our case, the ferry left at
around 7:00 a.m., arrived at Bancalaan Island to pick up more passengers at
around 8:00 a.m. and finally reached Rio Tuba Port at 10:30 a.m. A tricycle can
be rented out for 80 pesos going out of the port to the town, but if you’re in
a group of four, you could share the fare and pay only 20 pesos each person for
the ride.

There are regular bus
and shuttle van trips (400-450 pesos) from Rio Tuba to Puerto Princesa. Travel
time is more or less 5 hours. At San Jose Terminal, you could rent a tricycle
going to downtown at 100–150 pesos. You may also opt to ride a jeepney (just
like what we did) for 13 pesos each person that brings you to downtown.

The next posts will
feature the town of Balabac and some interesting islands; you have to see
those, believe me!

So an update for my trip as of mid-February 2018:I went down to Rio Tuba in Mid February and was told it is not safe for foreign guests (non-filipino) to go there at the time being. I had a very nice lady at the docks of Rio Tuba calling around to numerous numbers I gave her and some family that she has down there. The same response from all, they strongly discouraged foreign tourists from visiting at the moment. I spoke with a man sailing through the Philippines and he also told me that he would not stop for anywhere for muchtime in and around the Balabac region. They are still operating boats (quite expesive – 6-7,000php for 3 day trips) for Filipinos though.

Perhaps you can take a public boat down and have no problems. If boat operators that make money from tourism are encouraging foreign guests to stay away though, it’s probably for a reason. To the foreign tourists, is it really worth putting yourself in danger or the other people with you as well?